Pages

Thursday, March 30, 2006

Autism is a neurological disorder, often diagnosed in young children. The cause of this affliction remains a mystery, and statistics show the number of cases is increasing. In fact, Austism occurs in 1 out of every 250 births in this country.

One problem with Autistic children is the inability to relate to other people. They aren't able to recognize certain facial expressions or even begin to understand another person's emotions. Researchers at MIT have been working on a solution for this:

A camera on a pair of glasses is hooked up to a handheld computer which is able to decipher the facial expressions of another person. The key to the Emotion Detector is the software running on the handheld. MIT researchers have created an image and emotion recognition program that decodes the images fed to it via the camera.If you see a geek out there wearing camera glasses hooked up to a handheld computer, beware!

If computer believes a listener is bored or disinterested, the thing will vibrate and the camera wearing person can either change the subject, maybe tell some jokes, or run away in total embarassment.

This is a huge step is emotion recognition software, as prior technology could only detect very basic emotions such as anger, happiness, sadness, surprise, and disgust. This new software is capable of figuring out of a listener is thinking, agreeing, disagreeing, or totally bored.

So how was this software developed? The program's learning algorithm was primed by showing it 100 8 second clips of actors displaying certain emotions. It detected the movement of the eyebrows, eyes, mouth, nose - and also the head movements including nodding, shaking, or tilting. After "teaching" the software about what emotions looked like, researchers showed it a whole set of new footage, and the computer was accurate in detecting the correct emotion 90% of the time. Professor Simon Baron Cohen of the Autism Research Centre in Cambridge, said: "It is a very clever application as a prosthetic device."

Imagine the possibilities once this program is perfected. You could use such a "Boredom Barometer" in many situations:

* Business...During meetings you can set up webcams feeding the images of all the people in the boardroom. If somebody is doodling or text messaging their mistress, BEEP BEEP BEEP! Either the boss can try to make the meeting more engaging, or just fire the slacker's ass right there.

* Education...This would be a teacher's best friend. You set up the system in the classroom, and whenever a kid starts to dose off or write love notes to his girlfriend's best friend, BEEP BEEP BEEP! The teacher can take appropriate action. She can either make her lessons more interactive and interesting, or she can snag that love note and read it in front of the entire class.

* Dating...The Boredom Barometer would be heaven-sent for guys in the dating world. You put on your camera glasses and keep the handheld in your pocket. As the date progresses, you go through your normal speel like exaggerating how much money you make or how sensitive you are to the world's plight against hunger. The moment she knows you're full of shit and just want to have sex with her, BEEP BEEP BEEP. You can split the check and go out and find another willing victim...uh...I mean date.

* Blogging...Maybe they can set up a similar system for bloggers! You're reading a blog, and the moment you get bored, the software immediately removes the blog from your browser and takes you to a much more entertaing blog to.....

56
comments:

Didn't Rosanna Arquette use a similar device to kick Steve Guttenberg to the curb before their date had officially even started in the comedic classic Amazon Women On the Moon?

But she didn't wear funny glasses, she ran his driver's license, a major credit card, and his social security number and determined that among other things he was full of shit when he said things like "I'm really into Meryl Streep films."

I'm supprised you missed Churches as a use for this device. I can just see the priest up there talking along and then BEEP BEEP BEEP and its time for some real hellfire and brimstone preaching. What a great gadget.

Phoenix: It has no real plot. It's a series of comedic sketches some of which stand up well to the test of time (including the Steve Guttenberg/Rosanna Arquette bit) and others that well... not so much.

You will also learn of the speculation that the Loch Ness Monster was really Jack the Ripper... :-)

Wow. Emotion recognition software. It sounds interesting, but how complex can it get? Can you tell if someone is lying? Maybe you could wear it for a job interview and see how much the boss likes you. The possibilities are endless.

Oh wait ..that was the answering machine. Sounds like a very cool adaptation of technology. Like the job I had before coming to Seattle. I have had exactly one job in my life where I felt like what I was doing actually benefited people. Making AFIS..yes those fancy fingerprint ID systems that you see them use on CSI. ALthough they don't make fancy searching computer noises...

Jennifer, I think many Asberger's patients could benefit from such a gizmo. Any person that falls on the Autistic spectrum would, I think. This technology would be for older children through adults as well. Think about the real life Rainman...the guy can tell you what day August 3rd, 1901 was - but he can't tie his shoes...nor can he distinguish a sad person from a happy one.

village idiot, You made those cool fingerprint ID things??? Wow.

will, yeah - a big clucking camera off to the side would give you away I would think.

dabich, I hear it's great benefits - and a lot of fun too. Maybe you get a free pair of glasses and computer.

phats, At the dollar store, the best you can do are the gigantic sunglasses.

fuzz, maybe you should drink coffee while reading my posts.

sar, Thanks! That's so sweet. I'm looking forward to being a guest blogger on your site and posting about something totally non-scientific.

We didn't drive to MO from CA. We moved out of CA, and that is why I've been dropping hints about where we live now at my blog. It's been fun playing around with it. We had a full day's drive from where we live to the St. Louis area. We are in truly hick country and it is fun blogging about it.

I have a request.Please post about Chimeras sometime.I saw a show on these two ladies who have kids that do not match their DNA. They gave birth to kids who, if you test their blood, do not match.It is very weird how this chimera thing works.If you ever feel like looking into it further, I think it would make a cool subject for a post.If the subject doesn't interest you at all, then forget I even mentioned it.

I've officially lost my mind, well at least my long term memory.I went and read that post. It seemed very familiar. When I went to the comments, I saw that I had left a comment there back when you posted it. Just shoot me!!

JD, that's OK...I think that might have been the very first time you found my little blog. That was the first month I started blogging, August of last year, and I think maybe 10 people read that post - and you were one of them!

What I would be interested in knowing, is, if this device could identify emotions correctly, would the person who needs it even be able to acknowledge it?

For instance, psychopaths register feelings in Brocas area of the brain...one of the language areas. So, they process the feeling of "fear" much the same that the rest of us would process the word "light". Its a word, and nothing more. So, how would these kids, even if they were told that someone was "angry" at a behavior begin to process it? Would they understand? Are they even capable? It's like knowing the words to a song, but never hering the tune.

Autistic people aren't able to empathize, nor relate to other's emotions. Having such a device could at the very least alert the autistic person that someone is upset or not listening.

It would give them the chance to be notified of certain emotions from the listener. They might not be able to understand nor truly empathize, but at least they can change their behavior when the computer vibrates.

Awwww what happened to the "much more entertaining blog to...." and then the image is GONE!

Too many people swiping the image as your own, or is it a screenshot of your blog, perhaps?

And yes, I also think that this would be good around my family's dinner table too, for example. If I start telling a story about my day and then BEEP BEEP BEEP - I would know I'm getting boring ha ha. :-)

Post a Comment

About Me

Blogging since 2005.
Medical sales warrior by day, writing ninja by night...
I am the author of The Mechanica Wars series. The first book, Dragonfly Warrior, will be published in January, 2014 by 4 Wing Press.
I love science fiction, fantasy, literary fiction, biographies, and chocolate chip cookies.
info@jaynoel.com